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12th Century Baptismal Font at the Church of Saint Lawrence, Affpuddle, Dorset, England |
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The Church of St Lawrence at Affpuddle on the River Piddle is the home to two fonts. At the west end of the North Aisle is found it's 12th Century Norman font and at the easten end is a font of the same period from the now redundant church of Holy Trinity at Turners Puddle.
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GENERAL INFORMATION | |
| Patron Saint | Saint Lawrence | |
| Location | Affpuddle, Dorset, England | |
| Font location in church | The west end of the North Ailse | |
| workshop | probably Purbeck Marblers Guild | |
| Date/Century/Period | 12th Century | |
| Medium | Purbeck Marble bowl and corner shafts with sandstone central shaft | |
| Drainage | central drain | |
| Date of On-site Visit | 19th November 2004 | |
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FONT NOTES Font of square bowl with blind arcading of coupled round-headed sinkings on each face, the lower edge shaped for a shafted pedestal, late 12th century, pedestal and base modern.
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REFERENCE
Betjeman, J., Sir John Betjeman's guide to English parish churches, revised and updated by Nigel Kerr. London: HarperCollins, 1993, p. 180. Dorset Historic Churches Trust, Dorset Churches. [Dorchester]: DHCT, 1988, p. 8. Hutchins, J. The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd ed., edited by W. Shipp and J.W. Hodson, Westminster: J.B. Nichols, 1861-1873, Vol. 1, 1861, pp. 207-209; plates facing pp. 150, 208. Jenkins, S. England's thousand best churches. London: Allen Lane, the Penguin Press, 1999, p. 146. Newman, J. and Pevsner, N. The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, pp. 73-74. Pitfield, F.P., Dorset Parish Churches, A-D. Milborne Port: Dorset Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 19-21. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 2, South-East Dorset. London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 1, pp. 2-4.
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| DESCRIPTION | DIMENSIONS | ||
| Font Shape | Square Bowl | Total Height (without plinth or cover) | 98 cm |
| Basin Shape (outside) | Circular | Diameter of basin (including rim) | 57 cm |
| Basin Shape (inside) | Circular | Diameter of basin (not including rim) | 43 cm |
| Basin lining | lead lined | Width of rim | 7 cm |
| Shape of Base | corner and central shafts | Outside Height of Basin | 27 cm |
| Number of pieces | 7 | Inside depth of Basin | 21 cm |
 The Curch of Saint Lawrence at Affpuddle |
 The font viewed from the door |
 View of the south side of the font |
 View of the east side of the font |
 Close-up view of the east side of the font . |
 View from one font towards the font from Holy Trinity at Turners Puddle |
 Inside view of the basin |  Lawrence family crest found on the north wall of the chancel forms the heraldic elements that were to become the Stars and Stripes (or more correctly, the bars and mullets) of the national flag of the United States of America ~ Press |
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 Holy Trinity, Turners Puddle from the south |
GENERAL INFORMATION | |
| Patron Saint | Saint Lawrence | |
| Location | Affpuddle, Dorset, England | |
| Font location in church | The Lady Chapel | |
| workshop | Unknown | |
| Date/Century/Period | 12th Century | |
| Medium | Limestone bowl and base | |
| Drainage | central drain | |
| Date of On-site Visit | 19th November 2004 | |
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FONT NOTES Font of round bowl, the face with shallow-cut arcading of interlacing round-headed arches with pellets in the spandrels and heads of the arches, on a round pedestal and round hollow-chamfered base, both cut from a single block of stone, late 12th-century
This font is similar in style to the font at Askerswell. It is also similar to the larger font in nearby Bere Regis and has clearly suffered some extreme damage with the passage of time. Because of the proximity to Puddletown to the west, is is possible the cause of damage to this font may have been from a similar cause to that of the font at Saint Mary's church at Puddletown. Today, this font is to be found in the Church of Saint Lawrence at Affpuddle. Refer to photograph map above
Turner's Puddle is a very small settlement, often called Toner's Puddle (Piddle) in old books. The church is best approached on foot, horse or bicycle from the hamlet of Throop, crossing a series of fords or footbridges. Unfortunately, the church is now redundant and locked.
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REFERENCE
Hutchins, J., The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd ed., edited by W. Shipp and J.W. Hodson, Westminster: J.B. Nichols, 1861-1873, Vol. 1, 1861, p. 212.
Raven, J.J., The church bells of Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, Vol. 24, 1903, pp. 103-148. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 2, South East Dorset. London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 2, p. 298.
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| DESCRIPTION | DIMENSIONS | ||
| Font Shape | Round Bowl | Total Height (without plinth or cover) | 88 cm |
| Basin Shape (outside) | Circular | Diameter of basin (including rim) | 67 cm |
| Basin Shape (inside) | Circular | Diameter of basin (not including rim) | 49 cm |
| Basin lining | lead lined | Width of rim | 9 cm |
| Shape of Base | round pedestal and base | Outside Height of Basin | 33 cm |
| Number of peices | 3 | Inside depth of Basin | 26 cm |
 View of the font within the Lady Chapel |
 View of the front (west side) of the font |
 View of the left side of the font |
 View of the right side of the font |
 Inside view of the basin |
| LINKS |
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Dorset Historic Churches Trust |
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